Friday, May 19, 2017

Baruch Dayan Emmes Meir Yisrael ben Faige is no longer suffering
may he have peace in the next world.

Parsha
Behar – Bechukosai

Three weeks ago up until that point the Torah had
taught us 183 Mitzvos which is quite a bit for former slaves with no education
to learn. Then with the double Parsha we added 79 followed by the second
largest Mitzvah Parsha with 63. We start out with Mitzvah 326 and end at
Mitzvah 361. Thus we almost doubled our knowledge of Mitzvos in 3 weeks or 5
Parshiyos! All of Beresheis was 3 Mitzvos and all of Sefer Bamidbar is 52 which
is one more Mitzvah than Kiddushin.

This week we will receive more Mitzvos. We start out at
Har Sinai with the laws of Shmita (Sabbatical year). Rashi asks what is the
relationship between Shmita and Har Sinai. He replies that just as the laws of
Shmita were given at Har Sinai so were all the others. The Ramban disputes that
seeing that in Sefer Devarim all the Mitzvos that were mentioned on the plains
of the Yarden. Rabbi Avigdor Miller in his writings and lectures tried to
square things up before these two Torah Giants. He writes that everything was
given at Har Sinai in the Oral Torah during Moshe’s visits of 40 days. It was
only written out later.

This makes sense when we go back to educating an adult
former slave population who are now nomads with either herds, cattle or both. A
person with a family educating his children is happy if he has time to go to a
Daf Yomi Shuir or a few Shuirim. So one cannot heap upon the population a ton
of Mitzvos and Halachos.

25:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying: 2 Speak
unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye come into the land
which I give you, then shall the land keep a Sabbath unto the LORD.

Besides Shabbos Kodesh, the holy land requires a
Shabbaton year. As a man must refresh himself so the land must be refreshed.
For the land has become depleted of minerals. Even organic fertilizer cannot be
spread during Shmita Year.

3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt
prune thy vineyard, and gather in the produce thereof. 4 But in the seventh
year shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath unto the LORD;
thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. 5 You shall not reap the
aftergrowth of your harvest, and you shall not pick the grapes you had set
aside [for yourself], [for] it shall be a year of rest for the land.

But the poor may eat and if nobody comes to gather and
you have none you can pick. We can give it to the collectors of Beit Din.

The aftergrowth of your harvest: although you did not sow it,
but it grew by itself from seeds that [inadvertently] had dropped on [the
ground] at the time of harvesting. This is called סְפִיחַ.
You shall not reap: to keep it like a regular harvest, but it must be rendered
ownerless, [and available] for everyone [to take at will]. — [Be’er Basadeh]
The grapes you had set aside [for yourself]: [i.e., those grapes] that you set
aside (הִנְזַרְתָּ) and kept people away
from them and did not declare them ownerless. You shall not pick: Those, you
shall not pick, but [you may pick] from crops declared ownerless. — [Torath
Kohanim 25:8]

6 And the Sabbath-produce of the land shall be for food for you:
for thee, and for thy servant and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant and
for the settler by thy side that sojourn with thee; 7 and for thy cattle, and
for the beasts that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be for
food. 8 And thou shalt number seven Sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times
seven years; and there shall be unto thee the days of seven Sabbaths of years,
even forty and nine years. 9 Then shalt thou make proclamation with the blast
of the horn on the tenth day of the seventh month; in the day of atonement
shall ye make proclamation with the horn throughout all your land. 10 And ye
shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land unto
all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall
return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his
family.

This is the Yovel in which the original crop land
returns to the family that owned it but not a house in a city.

17 And ye shall not wrong one another; but thou shalt fear thy God;
for I am the LORD your God.

Sometimes it is easy to prey on fools or the weak and
it is our duty or fear of G-D that we don’t take advantage.

… 29 And if a man sells a dwelling-house in a walled city, then he
may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; for a full year shall he
have the right of redemption. 30 And if it be not redeemed within the space of
a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be made sure in
perpetuity to him that bought it, throughout his generations; it shall not go
out in the jubilee.

We do not have walled cities today but any city will
apply nowadays.

… 35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and his means fail with
thee; then thou shalt uphold him: as a stranger and a settler shall he live
with thee.

Do not take advantage of the poor but support them.

36 Take thou no interest of him or increase; but fear thy God; that
thy brother may live with thee. 37 Thou shalt not give him thy money upon
interest, nor give him thy victuals for increase.

This applies to a loan to a Jew but not to a non-Jew or
a business loan for all of them there is a risk but the if the Jew does not pay
you back it is counted as Tzeduka while the other two loans are not. It does
not mean that one cannot donate to a non-Jew food, clothing, medicines, toys
etc. It only means that one can accept interest on the money. One can also
donate to a business on “go fund me” however, that would be in small amounts
but thousands of dollars is risky so one can ask for interest.

38 I am the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of
Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God. 39 And if thy brother be
waxen poor with thee, and sell himself unto thee, thou shalt not make him to
serve as a bondservant. 40 As a hired servant, and as a settler,
he shall be with thee; he shall serve with thee unto the year of jubilee.

One can hire oneself out in a contract or daily, weekly
or monthly.

47 And if a stranger who is a settler with thee be waxen rich, and
thy brother be waxen poor beside him, and sell himself unto the stranger who is
a settler with thee, or to the offshoot of a stranger's family, 48
after that he is sold he may be redeemed; one of his brethren may redeem him; 49 or his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is
nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be waxen rich, he
may redeem himself.

The case is with a rich Noachide in Israel and a dirt
poor Jew (Israeli).

… 26:1 Ye shall make you no idols, neither shall ye rear you up a
graven image, or a pillar, neither shall ye place any figured stone in your
land, to bow down unto it; for I am the LORD your God. 2 Ye shall keep My Sabbaths,
and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD.

This is the first time since the Decalogue that
idolatry is mentioned and guarding the Shabbos. The Torah emphasizes time after
time and then still time again about Shabbos. Yet other Yetzer are less
emphasized like idolatry and adultery. Why is this so important for it is
perhaps the end result of all creation.

3 If
ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them;

This is a condition that one observes what G-D says then he is
rewarded but if not and the opposite we shall see later.

4
then I will give your rains in their season, and the land shall yield her
produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. … 6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye
shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; and I will cause evil beasts to
cease out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. 7 And ye
shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. 8 And
five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten
thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. 9 And I will
have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you; and will
establish My covenant with you.

I, HASHEM, will have respect for you. You respect ME and honor ME,
I will give you back measure for measure. Great honor will be due you both here
and in the next world.

… 14
But if ye will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments; 15
and if ye shall reject My statutes, and if your soul abhor Mine ordinances, so
that ye will not do all My commandments, but break My covenant; 16 I also will
do this unto you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever,
that shall make the eyes to fail, and the soul to languish; and ye shall sow
your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

Unfortunately, due to improper education and just a sense of
rebellion some people who should know better rebel against religion. These Jews
in the times of Rome were Epicureans hence the word Apicorsous in Hebrew. They
were more learned and broke away today they are boors who just want to live
free of Torah and Mitzvos. There are those who are ignoramuses and they are
considered children that were raised by non-Jews as they were born that way.

17
And I will set My face against you, and ye shall be smitten before your
enemies; they that hate you shall rule over you; and ye shall flee when none
pursues you. 18 And if ye will not yet for these things hearken unto Me, then I
will chastise you seven times more for your sins.

Although I am not doing Perkei Avos this year it is written
measure the reward and cost of the Mitzvah vs. the reward-gratification for a
sin and it’s cost. English Royalty cheats right and left and has never visited
Israel in 69 years. Along there does not seem to be a penalty to pay. Ha-ha in the
next world we shall see who is in an everlasting reward and who is doing time
in the spiritual re-education which is not pleasant and the only rest is on
Shabbos.

… 45
But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I
brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I
might be their God: I am the LORD. 46 These are the statutes and ordinances and
laws, which the LORD made between Him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai
by the hand of Moses.

Despite all of the curses listed which I skipped, HASHEM will
remember his people.

27:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 Speak unto the
children of Israel, and say unto them: When a man shall clearly utter a vow of
persons unto the LORD, according to thy valuation, 3 then thy valuation shall
be for the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy
valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
4 And if it be a female, then thy valuation shall be thirty shekels. 5 And if
it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy valuation shall
be for the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 6 And if it be
from a month old even unto five years old, then thy valuation shall be for the
male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy valuation shall be three
shekels of silver. 7 And if it be from sixty years old and upward: if it be a
male, then thy valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten
shekels.

The valuation is for a slave or somebody who sells
himself for hiring out. Or for damages. The courts do the same. If a 20 to 60-year-old
sues for loss of Avoda he is given compensation. However, as my wife and I
approach 70, we have less energy to work as hard as before. So for a
manufacturing standpoint we are of less value. I cannot lay cinder blocks as I
did at 40 when I built the wall on the side of my property.

8 But if he be too poor for thy valuation, then he shall be set
before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to the means of
him that vowed shall the priest value him. … 34 These are the commandments,
which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

Not only Shmita was given at Har Sinai but all the
commandments perhaps the ones given on the other side of the Yarden were also
given orally on Sinai.

It was 1992 whenHoward Feinsteinfirst opened the door to his Lower
Manhattan office to find a black-hatted young man staring back at him.

"Excuse me, Sir,"
the boy asked, "are you Jewish?" "Of course, I'm Jewish,"
Howard replied." I even had a Bar Mitzvah!" "Well, would you
like to put ontefillin?"
theyeshivaboy shot back with a grin. "I'm
sorry, but I'm quite busy today," said Howard. "Here's 20 bucks for
charity. Have a nice day."

Howard closed the door
behind him and thought nothing more of the encounter. Yet, it wasn't the last
he saw of this 14-year-old teenageyeshivaboy, namedAri Halberstam. Every Friday like
clockwork, Ari returned to Cables & Chips -- Howard's family-owned business
-- to offer Howard the opportunity to put ontefillin.

After a few weeks, Howard
could no longer resist Ari's charm and he relented. As Ari wrapped thetefillinaround Howard's arm for the first time
since his Bar Mitzvah, a spark was ignited, and a friendship was born.As time passed, Ari became
a fixture in the Cables & Chips office. Howard would look forward to his
weekly visits, when they would chat about politics, religion, and most
importantly - sports. Howard and Ari shared a love of The Game - any game.
They'd commiserate over teams' losses and get into heated debates over games of
baseball, hockey, football and basketball. Howard would treat Ari with tickets
to games, and their bond continued to grow.

Until one Friday, Ari
stopped coming.

It was March 1st, 1994 when
Ari awoke extra early to travel to the Manhattan hospital where the Lubavitcher
Rebbe was undergoing cataract surgery. At the hospital, Ari donned histefillinand prayed the morning service, but
did not have time to wrap them before catching a ride back to Brooklyn. As the
van, filled with black-hatted teenagers, drove up the ramp to the Brooklyn
Bridge, a Lebanese-born terrorist, armed with an arsenal of weapons, opened
fire on the van.* Ari was shot in the head while clutching his unraveledtefillin- the very ones which Howard had worn
the previous Friday. He was all of sixteen years old.

Howard was heartbroken to
learn that the young Ari Halberstam, whose name was plastered all over the news
stations, was the same Ari who had been coming to put him ontefillinfor the past two years.

Ari's friend, Zalmy,
continued to come, but Howard Feinstein's Fridays were never the same again.

A few months after Ari's
passing, the Halberstam family reached out to Howard. They invited him to the
Torah dedication which was written in Ari's memory and Howard proudly inscribed
his own letter in the Torah. Later, Howard and his wife, Susan, joined the
Board of Directors for the Jewish Children's Museum in Brooklyn, NY, which was
built in Ari's memory. When Ari'stefillinbuddy, Zalmy, dedicated the synagogue
of his Chabad House to Ari's memory, Howard proudly stood by.

Over the ensuing years
Howard and Susan became extended family to the Halberstam's. They shared in
their joys -- celebrating weddings, births, and happy occasions. The
Feinstein's friendship was always a source of comfort to the family.

Ari's brothers continued to
visit Cables & Chips on Fridays, with Ari'stefillinin hand. Howard welcomed them in like
family, embracing them with his usual friendliness and warmth. When Ari's
brothers went out of town, otheryeshivaboys continued the Friday route,
visiting Howard to dontefillin.

In a collection of memories
that was collaborated for Ari's 10thyahrzeit,
Howard wrote, "I remember the first time puttingtefillinon. The boys wished me aGut Shabbos. As they left my
business, I saw Zalman put his arm around Ari's shoulder and say, "Nice
job, you did it, good deed convincing and showing Howard how to puttefillinon."

He continued to highlight
some of his memories of Ari. "Our competitive and heated discussions were
always about the Mets vs. Yankees, Knicks vs. Nets, Rangers vs Devils and
Giants vs. Jets." He continued, "I will always have fond memories of
Ari Halberstam."

Howard also spoke at ayartzheitgathering for Ari's family several
years later. He reminisced about his time with Ari, and shared his feelings
about the boy who puttefillinon him for the first time since his
Bar Mitzvah, igniting his love for themitzvah.

This past Friday, May 16,
2014, Howard's soul returned to its heavenly place. The lastmitzvahhe did on Earth, was to put ontefillinfrom his hospital bed.

At Howard's funeral, his son,
Geoff, grew emotional as he reminisced about Howard's special relationship with
ayeshivaboy named Ari Halberstam. As Ari's
family members sat amongst the mourners, he expressed the Feinstein family's
belief that Ari would surely be there to greet Howard at the heavenly gates,
two souls united through themitzvahoftefillin.

Chaim ben Leizer Halevi Feinstein was buried in Staten Island on Monday the
19th day of the Jewish month of Iyar, the date of Ari's birth, 36 years
before….

Source: Adapted by
Yerachmiel Tilles mainly from an article by Chana Apfelbaum for //colLive.com
on May 22, 2014.

Appendix
1) Fromhttp://www.arihalberstam.com/about-ari/Ari shared a special
bond with the Lubavitcher Rebbe and his wife. At three years old, he sat on the
Rebbe's lap as the Rebbe taught him the first letters of the aleph-bet. As a
child, the Rebbe kissed his forehead in the exact spot that the bullet entered
so many years later.
Ari's father worked as a butler and personal manager in the grand Rabbi's
household for many years until Rabbi Schneerson's wife, Chaya, died in 1988.
Mrs. Schneerson was particularly close to Ari, and was known to treat him as
the grandson she never had.

2) (From the NY Times, Dec.
27, 2009):
The metal signs are impossible to miss. They are oversize, in a bold blue
usually found on signs directing drivers to the nearest hospital. And there are
lots of them - 13 in all, according to the city's count - along a quarter-mile
stretch of roadway and its approaches.
In fact, probably no thoroughfare in New York City is better identified than
the ramp connecting the southbound Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive to the Brooklyn
Bridge. The signs all say the same thing: "Ari Halberstam Memorial
Ramp."
Many drivers no doubt have no idea who that is. And that's precisely why the
signs are there.

On Friday, I started getting notices from the bank of France. Since
of course I have my billions stored there I did not open it. This is how the
hacking works. The number of countries hit now at 150 and may still be growing.
Always download Microsoft Security Patch Updates! The patch was there in the
system and I use Windows Defender to keep my Computer Secure. http://debka.com/article/26053/Global-hacking-for-ransom-hits-99-countries

Good Shabbos all I close with a sad heart today as a
man who was my secondary Chavrutha for 28.5 years gave over his soul to his
maker today and as I put out this Drasha may it help the soul of Meir Yisrael
ben Yacov Wolf,